KOLKATA--THE FUTURE TELECOM CORRIDOR OF INDIA

Well as of now , Kolkata is yet to achieve this goal . It has to go a long way to be in the league of the branded cities and their renowned epithets. Just as Bangalore is famously known as the silicon valley , and Hyderabad –the genome valley, can Kolkata be left far behind , specially with such a huge ambition. Kolkata has undergone a metamorphosis ; from a cultural hub to a telecom major, it had undertaken a series of initiatives in salience with the yet to achieve brand image.

The already existing major players in the telecom industry –BSNL, Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, smart, reliance, are vying for the consumers ears. To add to the woe, recently Tata Docomo, idea and MTS, too launched their telecom services in Kolkata.

Well in a market that is already cluttered with so many operators , nearly confusing the consumers, the operators should feel the need of their subscribers , by focusing strongly on network connection, coverage and service offerings both on quality and price aspect and most important of all providing the consumers a customized approach.

Tata Docomo , to consider a case , announced a novel, “ pay –for-what –you-use” model for subscribers in Kolkata, with a pulse of one second and a pricing of just one paisa per second. According to Ratan Tata , Chairman , Tata Sons, - “ the value proposition offered by Tata Docomo is a unique and a revolutionary idea which symbolizes the spirit of innovation an inventive genius.”. he feels the launch of pay-per –use, pay-per-second concept will create a paradigm shift in the overall telecom experience for the customer and provide a service that is refreshingly different.

While the government is planning to come up with tax incentives for the telecom segment, TiE(The Industry Entrepreneurs), a non-profit organization along with the state of West Bengal is taking initiatives to promote Kolkata as a possible destination for telecom entrepreneurs.

Industry sources say that TiE’s big idea is to try and create domain-specific expertise in the telecom segment. To do this, TiE is initially looking at the possibility of setting up a telecom centre of excellence at Kolkata to provide infrastructure and trained manpower for the telecom sector.

The centre of excellence will provide the required infrastructure for software testing as well as ready manpower.. it will also talk with major telecom players of the country to set up the centre of excellence and the initial response is quite encouraging. The centre of excellence will serve the needs of Indian telecom software as well as service companies, who are handicapped by the absence of a proper testing centre and paucity of trained manpower

The second stage will be to brand the city on the lines of Bangalore and Hyderabad. For this, TiE is providing inputs to the consultants McKinsey, to create a road-map for the IT segment..

The brave step that has been taken by TiE, is a good news indeed , and only time can say whether kolkata too will be in the league of the high profile branded cities.

ITS ALL ABOUT “OM SHANTI OM”….

A brief hiatus and I am back. Durgapuja and Kali puja.. a month long celebration in West Bengal.. the biggest festival ever for the Bengalis. As I went pandal hopping from one part of the city to the other , with huge lights glaring and sound blazing, crowds moving in herds, I was amazed at the huge transition that these pujas had gone through. From the ‘parar pujo’ ( neighborhood puja) to totally a corporate sponsored puja with a particular theme in the perspective…the Bengal pujas have seen them all.

While wandering through my memory lanes it reminded me of Renuka Chowdhury..the India’s tourism minister , when she immediately after taking charge of her new assignment , announced before a group of reporters .”.I want to open up unconventional avenues, like religious tourism, not in one part of India , but all over the country.”

India has emerged as one of the lucrative market for religious tourism. A study by the Delhi based National Council for Applied Economic Research( NCAER), shows that out of the 230 million tourist trips undertaken in India, the largest proportion is made up of religious pilgrimage. India has increasingly become a religious hub in the S-East Asia , with its diverse religion and cultures . For instance as many as 23 million people visited Tirupati, a temple town near southern India devoted to Lord Balaji. Tirupati’s annual list of pilgrims is higher than the total no of travelers visiting Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata put together.

Realizing its huge untapped potential , various religious trusts, state and central governments , have beefed up their managerial skills along with the blending of world class infrastructure. Travel masti a travel portal provides religious packages to tourists which covers as many as 23 destinations across India. Golden temple at Amritsar, the Tirupati temple offers online booking for accommodation and security to their pilgrims around the temple complex. Japan’s Nikko hotels has lined up with a series of hotels along the Buddhist circuit in east India. India’s railway tourism corporation runs a special package tour , while India’s only helicopter ferry service , Pawan Hans; runs a helicopter service right up to the temple. Another hot religious spot among the pilgrims is Orissa, where the state government has upgraded the condition of the roads. The temple managements are becoming more and more pilgrim friendly. From a data by NCAER, it gives an idea about the religious traffic in India.

• Tirupati ------- 23 million.

• Puri-------18.17 million.

• Vaishno Devi------17.25 million.

• Hardwar…….11.04 million.

• Naina Devi------8.28 million.

• Mathura-----8.28 million.

• Ajmer Sharif-----8.22 million.

• Amritsar-----7.13 million.

• Shirdi( W.India)------6.21million.

• Badrinath and Kedarnath-----4.1 million.

Well considering the splurge of devotees we can safely say that all of us..from the pilgrims to the businessman.. the whole hulla is about an intangible concept…OM SHANTI OM.

WAKE UP INDIA …WE ARE STILL SLEEPING.

Yugratna Srivastav , a 13 year old girl from Lucknow addressed the UNITED NATIONS Climate change summit in New York. Her speech won accolades from the world leaders including UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon and American Environmental activist and Nobel peace prize winner Al Gore.

Everyday, everybody speaks of environmental pollution. But how many of us are really doing something for it. India with its myriad cultures and heritage has been a global leader in spirituality and hospitality ; embracing millions in its warmthness and vibrant hues. Now India Inc is an international brand in the making, with a huge untapped potential amongst the youth and the children , who are not only intelligent but are also very much discerning about the various issues plaguing the society-environmental concern being one of them. Egs set forth like Yugratna expose our reluctant attitude towards this grave issue. Yugratna was first touched when she was in class 6, which prompted her to join a NGO called Tarumitra ( friends of the tress) and work passionately propagating her objective. Her passion made her the first indian child to get elected in the junior board of UNEP ( UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME) .

So when Infosys Chairman and Chief Mentor Narayan Murthy comments that India is guided more by slogans than action and to be a global leader it has to first shed off its bureaucratic attitude, Yugratna set a fine example where actions speak larger than words. We should all stand by her when she says that serious climate change issues like global warming, scarcity of food and water , outbreak of accentuated epidemics –the young generation of this century has witnessed it all and it is time the world leaders recognize the underlying energy and enthusiasm of these young heroes and channelize them in the right direction. It should be the responsibility of all of us by way of little actions that we can make this world a better place to live.

Dirt & stain triumphs…

The old saga of ugliness associated with dirt and stain has undergone a makeover since the surf excel campaign . The Surf Excel ads celebrates dirt and stain as a part and parcel of a grand occasion called LIFE encouraging , and experiencing it as one grows up.

Marketing is all about positioning. A product may be of exceptional quality, but without an effective positioning it will be lost in the clutter of the similar products available in the same category in the market. An effective positioning provides that extra edge to the product which helps to break through that clutter and make a permanent mark in the minds of the consumers , in this highly competitive market.

The brand surf excel provides an excellent example of effective positioning . The tagline ‘Daag Achche Hai’ has helped establish the brands positioning strategy. The advertisers have been prudent enough to harp on a popular negative concept and turn it into an advantage. Converting the common woman’s irritation into a great relief , the campaign has always been thematic and full of life and vigour in its approach. The DAAG ACHCHE HAI campaign started around five years ago with a revolutionary concept against the conventional idea of Daag Gande Hai ( dirt is bad). Starting from its first campaign , where a brother dives into the puddle, pounding on it , scolding it, threatening it, with dire consequences , if it does not apologise to his sister as it is responsible in spoiling her dress. The second ad too , in resonant with the first , showed two small boys staging a mock fight to stop their fathers from fighting. The third ad showed solving a hiccup problem through shock , quite a very unusual way though.

The latest campaign from this stable is the ‘dog boy’ campaign, wherein when a boy learns in school about the death of his teacher’s dog ; he immediately goes to her house , and starts playing the dog before her in order to make her smile. The voice over says – AGAR DAAG LAGNE SE KUCH ACHCHA HOTA HAI, TOH DAAG ACHCHE HAI , followed by the tagline – Surf Excel- Daag Achche Hai and the logo. The child has been used very strategically to convey the brand value as children in their numerous naughty ways , try to please the person whom they love, unmindful of the consequences or any obstacles; which in a way also show their innocence, purity, surrounding them. Arun Iyer group creative director , Lowe Lintas in one renowned magazine explained that children can demonstrate a lot of values through actions . Here it is the emotion of empathy. It is about how a child feels instinctively for someone’s pain even though he does not know what it feels like. When he sees he , he immediately understands the magnitude of her grief.

The brand philosophy of surf excel too echoes the same concept. Surf Excel believes that stains are good . This is because when children go out and play and get dirty, they don’t just collect stains . They experience life , make friends, share with each other and learn from each other. This helps them get stronger and get ready for the world outside.( www.surfexcel.in)

POSITIONING STRATEGY OF TATA NANO

The concept car …the word is too often heard in recent times . but what is it? A concept vehicle is a car prototype , that is built to showcase a concept, new styling, new technology and more, to gauge customer reaction towards it. Concept cars many times don’t go for further production considering the various reactions of the customers and the seriousness of its application. And even then those concept cars which make a foray into the real world , they are modified several times to maximize its practical utility.

Though many manufacturers had before attempted in building a concept car but the one which is worth mentioning and had made a place of its own in the history of car manufacturers is Henry Ford’s model t. comparing TATA Nano to Ford’s model T, Times of India comments-

"This raises the question: How have the Tata’s accomplished such a task? Pursuing this question a fascinating story unfolds that reminds one of Henry Ford's Model T that was built exactly one hundred years ago (September 1908). Ford wanted to make a car for the multitude, not for the elite, with the best material and the best design that the technology of his time could devise, and he wanted to make it, above all, at a price that was affordable. This is the example that Ratan Tata has followed with determination. When he announced the price of his car in an interview to the Financial Times during the Geneva Motor Show, his colleagues were 'aghast', but he had set his goal”. (Surendra Munshi15 September 2008, 12:00am IST. "LEADER ARTICLE: More Than Just A Nano — Edit Page — OPINION — The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/LEADER_ARTICLE_More_Than_Just_A_Nano

On 10th January 2008, just 100 years after model T of Ford was built , TATA Motors unveiled its concept car , Nano , at 9th annual Auto Expo at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Commercially Nano was launched on 23rd march 2009, following which a booking period from 9th to 25th April, 2009, was kept and which generated more than 2,00,000 bookings. On 17th July 2009, TATA Motors handed over the keys of the world’s first TATA Nano to Ashok Vichare. Closely following in his wheels was 2nd runner up Ashish Balakrishnan.

Positioned as the people’s car , it brought about a revolution in the automobile sector with a starting price of Rs 100,000, which is far cheaper than its main competitor, Maruti 800.TATA NANO received immediate media attention owing to its cheap acquisition price . The financial times reported-

"If ever there were a symbol of India’s ambitions to become a modern nation, it would surely be the Nano, the tiny car with the even tinier price-tag. A triumph of homegrown engineering, the $2,200 (€1,490, £1,186) Nano encapsulates the dream of millions of Indians groping for a shot at urban prosperity."( "/ Columnists / David Pilling — India hits bottleneck on way to prosperity". Ft.com. 2008-09-24. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e68ab572-8a3e-11dd-a76a-0000779fd18c.html)

Initially it was felt that would be the choice of bikers and the whole nation went tumultous on the above discussion, on whether bikers would be interested in shifting their preferences towards Nano? The bike manufaturers were intimidated by the different voices.. But then one month past the sales report says it all. Comparing the two would seem ridiculous as both would differ in their price, maintenance costs, and re-sale value. More –over the success of TATA NANO on roads is yet to be established and had a to go a long way. The target market for bikers are young teenagers , the mindset of whom resonate with the passion and the new found freedom . On the hindsight it can target buyers who are aiming for branded budget cars and are even looking at the second hand car as an alternative. Another potential target market can be the auto rickshaws which commute locally in the suburban areas.

INTERNET POLICING

Facebook, Twitter- the most popular social networking sites that are regularly visited by millions of people worldwide, had failed to make it to the top 50 websites , according to a survey conducted by TIME magazine this year 2009.
One noticeable feature that emerged is that the online sharing community , whether be it videos, photographs, music , image , is gradually gaining grounds. While Twitter and Facebook ranked 6th and 31st respectively the sites like Flickr( 1st), California Coastline (2nd), You Tube (12th), Hulu ( 14th), Vimeo ( 15th), Fora Tv ( 16th), caught the attention of the surfers.
This fall in popularity or one might say decline in interest can be attributed to the often accusations against Facebook and Twitter. Recently a Georgian blogger with the account name Cyxymu, was targeted in a denial of service attack , that led to the sitewide outrage twitter and problems at the other sites as well. Twitter was down for several hours and it suffered periodic slowness and time outs throughout the day. Well it is for sure that such coordinated efforts by hijackers required thousands of computers , which together formed a botnet.
Again on 3rd June 2008, Canada , the third largest user base of Facebook after US and UK, the legal professionals lodged a complaint against Facebook accusing it of violating 22 separate private policies. According to the CIPPIC ( Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic ) based at the University of Ottawa , it violated the PIPEDA act ( Personal Information Protection and Electronic Document Act). Complaints such as targeted advertisements, passing on personal information of the users to the third party for advertising and profit-making business without the concerned persons permission, were levelled against it.
On 19th august 2009, 5 Californian residents filed lawsuit against Facebook for violating privacy. Iran had blocked Facebook accusing it of influencing Iranian elections, wherein the supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi , started DDOS ( Distributed Denial of Service) on the day of the elections, organized attacks against the President, Ahmadinezad’s site and exchanged attack tools through Facebook and Twitter.
Whatever the reason might be, the crux is that the social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have to be more vigilant in restricting the mal uses of this socially beneficial sites.

accessories market

ACCESSORIES- A BOOMING MARKET

Times have changed much faster than men have thought. And to accommodate to the changing times , now men are trying to catch up with it. There were times when men would hardly bother themselves about the appearance of their own, or any other items associated with them like mobiles, cars , bikes, home etc. But now the outward physical appearance of anything and everything starting from one’s own physical self to home, to cars, bikes etc means a significant value addition to one’s own lifestyle , setting a new paradigm. The accessories market is a newly emerged market , which portray the trend of current generation. The market is estimated at Rs 12,400/- crore , according to Samsika Marketing Consultant. Accessories have moved from being a low involvement product for consumers to high involvement product. There are several reasons which have contributed to the rising phenomenon. Like the rising awareness about the international fashion trends , and the subsequent portrayal of these fashion trends in the advertising media , the advent of malls, more disposable income, more awareness about using plastic money etc had brought the consumer more close to the lifestyle oriented products in an affordable and feasible manner. The consumer was flooded with choices .
Visit any dollar store or Nick Nish retail chain, then one can understand the range of accessories available in any category of products. Consider one simple example. Gone are the days when women would wear the same jewellery with all their dresses on special occasions. Today the new woman , the moment she buys a new sari or dress, her mind starts working on the matching accessories – jewellery, shoes, watch, leather bag ,etc and so on , that would go with the outfit. The fashion accessories industry ranges from bags, purses, ties, belts, shawls , scarves, handkerchiefs, caps, hats, footwear, fashion eyewear and watches. Currently it is on the verge of complete metamorphosis. In the current financial year the global clothing accessories industry generated total revenue of approximately US $ 74.9 of the overall industry value. Internationally India ranks among the top eight countries in the export of bags and purses. Even watches which was once considered merely as a tool for keeping toes with time soon became a fashion statement. Such is its impact that the current global watch market is valued at US $ 26.5 million dollars , with the emergence of Swiss majors and China exhibiting significant growth of of 9% and 7% respectively.
Another sector which has gained immense recognition as fashion accessory is the gold. In India, gold has traditionally been purchased either as investment or in the form of highly ornamental jewellery. The liberal economic era ushered in at the beginning of the 1990s and the emergence of an affluent professional class in the urban space with the boom of the IT and education industry resulted in the creation of a burgeoning designer wear/cosmetics/fashion accessories market in India. Gold along with its new incarnations like platinum, diamond soon flooded the Indian market and a whole new set of jewellery designers emerged to meet the growing demands. ``Globally, 90 per cent of jewelry sold is as dress wear - a part of the wardrobe and not the vault,'' says Mr. Mahesh Rao a young entrepreneur with extensive experience in fashion accessories market ``In India branded jewelry as a fashion accessory is still a small portion, less than one per cent, of the total Rs. 40,000 crores per annum jewelry market in India, but it is growing at a tremendous pace of 20 to 30 per cent annually."
With a sharp paradigm shift in the accessories market, men too are not lagging behind .They are now adventuring into various trends that are bold , new and simultaneously in keeping with the tradition. They are pampering themselves with their passions –cars, mobiles, bikes, computers etc. A riot of options in various categories have become available to spoil these new age techies. Car accessories like music system, alloy wheels, TV and video system, reverse music, perfume sprayer, inner car decoration, and bike accessories like brake music, colourful headlights, stickers etc have only added to their desire. Currently, the car accessories market is a multi-crore market, with a potential to double by 2010. Besides safety and security features, entertainment and infotainment (head units, speakers, amplifiers, sub-woofers etc) are the biggest revenue grosser for players in the segment, followed by safety and security (tyre pressure monitor, reverse parking sensor). The passenger car market in India is growing at nearly 10-12%, whereas the organized car accessories market is growing much faster at 15-20%. Gizmos like navigation, video-on-demand, mobile satellite radio, DVD players, MP3 players are driving the growth in the car accessories market. Global positioning system, popularly known as GPS, is finding initial installations in call center cabs. Nokia has solutions like hands-free kits, car phones, mobile holders and phone chargers.
Among the most tech savvy products mobile has occupied a very prestigious position . There is no doubt that mobiles are now the most trendiest newest technology to flaunt with. The market for mobile accessories are growing at a tremendous rate. Cell phone covers, mobile chargers, travel chargers, hands free kit, car kit, head set, belt clip, cradle, flashings, face plate, universal booster antenna, memory cards etc, are highly in demand . Mobile accessories enhance the look and utility of mobile phones. Computer accessories like computer case, LCD cleaning kits, CD wallet, screen filters, keyboard and mouse are also a huge success. Another important segment where accessories have made a grand exposure , a must-to-be is the home segment,where marble floors, spartek tiles, bathroom or kitchen interiors, terracotta walls, ethnic contours, are a welcome feature. These accessories have gained immense importance in everybody’s life because they contribute to the mother brands by being both “ brand accelerators” and “value drivers”. They not only add a value to the products but also accelerate their growth in the market and their recognition in the branded category of products.